Advanced Television

Joint OLED plan from Sony and Panasonic

June 22, 2012

By Chris Forrester

Reports out of Tokyo suggest that Sony and Panasonic, normally arch-rivals in terms of electronics manufacture, will come together to mass produced OLED screens.

Reuters, for example, is reporting that the two Japanese giants are looking to develop the screens at competitive prices, and in direct competition with South Korea’s Samsung and LG Electronics.

The Sony OLED-production scheme looks to manufacture screens using sprays while Panasonic is using ink-jet print technology. By combining and supplying a best-of-the-best solution the concept is that prices will be kept low, and that they can get to market quickly.

For Sony and Panasonic the worry is that Samsung and LG are already well ahead in terms of building  large-format (50” and above) screen sizes. Samsung and LG have both announced plans for large-screen OLED screens to be available – at a price – for this year.

While Sony won a world’s first with its 11” OLED display back in 2007, it hasn’t produced a large-screen commercial model. Sony’s TV division has also lost money for 8 straight years, and this new link with Panasonic is seen as a means of keeping investments under control and sharing in volume success.

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